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How a Global Biotech Leader Strengthened Executive Presence and Cross-Cultural Relationships

Client Profile

A mid-sized European-based biotechnology company with a growing U.S. presence, including a major office in the Boston area, was investing in leadership development for its senior team as it scaled globally. One high-potential executive had recently stepped into a more visible, board-facing role and was participating in an executive coaching engagement sponsored by the company.

While highly respected for her intelligence and operational expertise, both the organization and the executive wanted deeper insight into how she was showing up to her peers, direct reports, and senior leadership team.

They chose Launch 360 as the foundation for her coaching journey.

The Challenge

As her responsibilities expanded, this leader found herself operating in increasingly high-stakes environments — executive meetings, board presentations, and cross-continental leadership calls with colleagues in Europe.

Additionally, she was struggling in her working relationship with a senior European colleague whose communication style felt blunt, intense, and at times abrasive by U.S. standards. Tension between them was beginning to impact the broader leadership team.
What was missing was not effort — it was visibility.

Internally, there were subtle but meaningful gaps between how she believed she was showing up and how others were experiencing her:
  • She believed she was being clear and direct
  • Others experienced her as hesitant or overly cautious
  • She believed she was being collaborative
  • Some peers felt she lacked confidence at the executive table

Using Launch 360 to Reveal Blind Spots

The executive completed a Launch 360 assessment with feedback from:

  • Her direct manager
  • Peers in both the U.S. and Europe
  • Direct reports
  • Cross-functional stakeholders

The results created a powerful mirror.

While her technical competence and integrity scored very high, the 360 revealed blind spots in two critical areas:

Executive Presence

Several raters shared that:

  • She sometimes understated her point of view
  • She did not always claim her authority in senior meetings
  • Her ideas were strong — but her delivery didn’t always match her expertise
This was eye-opening. She had assumed that being measured and careful was being seen as thoughtful. Instead, it was sometimes interpreted as a lack of confidence.
Relationship Management Across Cultures

Feedback also showed tension around her relationship with her European counterpart. What she experienced as aggressive or dismissive, he experienced as normal, direct, and efficient. The 360 feedback revealed not just friction — but misaligned assumptions and unspoken expectations on both sides.

Coaching That Turned Insight Into Action

Working with a Launch 360 executive coach, the leader translated her feedback into concrete development goals.

For Executive Presence, she focused on:

  • Speaking earlier in meetings
  • Using clearer, more declarative language
  • Holding eye contact and physical presence when presenting
  • Claiming ownership of her ideas instead of softening them

Instead of “I’m not sure, but…” she practiced leading with “Here’s what I recommend…”
Within weeks, colleagues began to notice a shift. Her confidence became visible — not just felt internally.

For Relationship Management, she learned to:
  • Separate intent from style
  • Recognize cultural differences in directness
  • Ask clarifying questions instead of reacting emotionally
  • Reframe her colleague’s behavior as efficiency, not hostility
Using her 360 feedback as a neutral data point, she also had a constructive conversation with her European colleague that reset their working relationship and improved collaboration between their teams.

The Outcome

Within months:

  • Her influence on the senior leadership team increased
  • Board interactions became more confident and effective
  • Tension with her European colleague decreased significantly
  • Her team reported greater clarity, trust, and alignment
What changed wasn’t who she was — it was how clearly others could see her leadership.

Why Launch 360 Worked

The success of this engagement came from combining:
  • Honest, multi-rater feedback
  • Clear executive-level reporting
  • Skilled, human coaching
  • A system the organization could use again and again
  • Launch 360 didn’t just provide data — it gave this leader a roadmap to grow.